What To Make Of Google’s Latest Updates To Mobile Shopping

Mobile Continue To Play A Bigger Role Product Searches

Mobile has proven to play its biggest role in 2016 – with mobile shopping searches up 30% year-over-year, according to Google. That upwards trend is all but certainly going to continue well into 2017.

That’s why, in July (2016), Google announced it would roll out new mobile-centric features for PLAs, its YouTube’s TrueView shopping feature as well as a new Showcase Shopping ad format. In the months since the announcement, we’ve been able to really assess these new features. Here’s what every online advertiser needs to know.

Showcase Shopping Ads

The new Showcase Shopping ad format is well suited for mobile shoppers who use broader search terms, such as “living room furniture.”

That’s because rather than present these searchers with one specific product ad that likely isn’t all that relevant, Showcase Shopping Ads offers a far more in-depth experience, by showcasing multiple related products. To ensure you make the most of this feature, keep your feed up-to-date and accurate. This accuracy will ensure that Google pulls in the right related products for broad searches.

The Newness Of Trueview

The latest statistic from Google is that around 47% of US shoppers say they turn to YouTube at least once a month to help them decide on what to buy. TrueView, specifically, is Google’s tool that allows ad viewers on YouTube to find out more about a product, including being able to simply click to buy.

TrueView use is up: The number of advertisers using TrueView is up 50% since the start of 2016, and even more recently, 1/3 of all TrueView users are turning to it every single week. Seeing the widespread influence of TrueView, Google has introduced two new features to help retailers control branding:

Companion banner: A new interactive banner appearing next to the video that lets viewers scroll through products while the video is playing next to it. The banner also shows viewers the most up-to-date product information.

Product picker: Product picker allows the advertiser to choose and prioritize which of their products are features as cards in a TrueView for a shopping campaign.

These features are designed to help retailers tap into to the growing trends of video and mobile. As 2017 approaches, you can be certain that the mobile shopping push will continue to rise, and more and more of your shoppers will turn to video to help them decide where to shop.

OperationROI can help you adapt your advertising strategy to ensure you capture mobile shoppers and convert them into returning customers. Learn more about what we can do for you by calling us at 1-888-277-5429 or by filling out our contact form.